In 1996 when John Perry Bartlow wrote A Cyberspace Independence Declaration, internet pioneers hoped that the online world Bartlow was describing would come to pass. While Bartlow’s rhetoric was admittedly 'grandiose,' his central claim, that the internet was a place of freedom separate from the limits of the physical world, reflected the utopic atmosphere of the time. The technological revolution, in particular the rise of the digital network, seemed to point to a future 'where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity' (Bartlow, 1996). While not everyone in the late 90s could be characterized as a cyberutopian, the dominant mood harbored a sense that the digital network would bring with it newfound, unregulatable freedoms. (more...)